Sith

An ancient order of Force-wielders devoted to the dark side, the Sith practice hate, deception, and greed. Notable for their red-bladed lightsabers, black dress, and use of their aggressive feelings, the Sith look to amass power at all costs. The evil Darth Sidious, along with his apprentice Darth Vader, achieved the Sith goal of galactic conquest after a millennia of plotting.

History //

FALL OF THE REPUBLIC

The Sith remained a distant memory -- until the rise of Darth Sidious and his apprentice, Darth Maul, in the last days of the Republic. Sidious hid in plain sight as the unassuming Senator Palpatine of Naboo, while secretly orchestrating the Trade Federation’s invasion of the planet. This allowed him to make a play for the galaxy’s highest office in his civilian persona and sow the seeds of Sith revenge. Maul attacked Queen Amidala of the Naboo and later killed Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn, but fell to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Despite this setback, the Sith had returned, clouding the Force with the power of the dark side. And the arrival of Anakin Skywalker, a young boy especially strong with the Force, offered a potential new recruit for the Sith.

With the loss of Darth Maul, Darth Sidious took on a new apprentice: Count Dooku, former Jedi. Adopting the Sith name Darth Tyranus, Dooku became the face of the Separatist movement and pushed the galaxy into war. As a result, the Jedi became generals and compromised their ideals, which is exactly what Sidious wanted.

The Sith continued to plunge the galaxy into darkness with the Clone Wars. Jedi, once peacekeepers, were now generals and warriors -- a development that was all part of the Sith plot. Planets were ravaged and distrust and corruption became commonplace.

During this time, Count Dooku took on an apprentice of his own called Asajj Ventress. She became his personal assassin and weapon, engaging Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano on numerous occasions. While loyal, she was ultimately betrayed by her Master on the orders of Darth Sidious. Ventress sought revenge using Savage Opress, a hulking Sith apprentice, but failed to kill Dooku.

Though Opress would turn on Ventress, his journey was not over. The Zabrak found that his brother, Darth Maul, had not been killed as previously believed. Maul, though driven into madness, survived his injuries on Naboo, and Opress turned to Mother Talzin to restore the once deadly Sith. Gifted new mechanical legs and clear mind, Maul was back and obsessed with enacting revenge on Kenobi. He would have it, killing the Jedi’s former love, and made his own play for power by taking over Mandalore. Maul incurred the wrath of his former Master; Darth Sidious killed Opress and took his old apprentice captive in an elaborate Sith gambit to settle a longstanding and deadly dispute with the Nightsisters.

To the surprise of Darth Sidious, Yoda visited Moraband, the Sith homeworld. The Jedi Master encountered an illusory spectre of the ancient Sith Darth Bane, who was buried on the barren planet, and battled Sidious on a spiritual plane as a result of an ancient, arcane Sith ritual. Through his experience, Yoda gained a new enlightenment about the Force that the Sith did not foresee.

After three years of the Clone Wars, Darth Sidious’ grand scheme was almost complete. He sacrificed Count Dooku to a violent killing by Anakin Skywalker -- a necessary loss in order to manipulate the young Jedi. As Palpatine, he told Anakin a “Sith legend” about Darth Plagueis. Plagueis, through the dark side, had gained the ability to keep people from dying -- until, ironically, his apprentice killed him in his sleep. This story entranced Anakin, who was desperate to learn this power in an effort to save his wife, Padmé Amidala. Eventually, Palpatine revealed himself as Sidious, and converted Anakin with this temptation.

With Anakin now a Sith called Darth Vader, Sidious enacted his masterstroke. He executed Order 66, the slaughter of all Jedi, with Vader leading the assault. In the political arena, he reorganized the Republic into the Galactic Empire, installing himself as Emperor. Once more, the Sith ruled the galaxy, unbeknownst to all but the few surviving Jedi.

GALACTIC CIVIL WAR

Unchallenged for a generation, the Sith faced a new enemy: Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight. The Emperor feared that the young Jedi would destroy him, and sought to turn Luke to the dark side. In a final confrontation on Death Star II, Sidious goaded Luke into a violent attack on his father, Darth Vader; by using his hatred, the boy would embrace the power of the dark side, kill his father, and take Vader’s place as the Emperor’s enforcer. Luke ultimately resisted this temptation -- much to the anger of Sidious. The Sith unleashed a torrent of Force lightning upon the Jedi, determined to destroy him for this outrage. Vader, however, turned on his Master. The good in him awakened by his son’s love, Vader saved Luke and threw the Emperor down a deep chasm. The tyranny of the Sith was over, and a new age dawned.

Related //

Scheming, powerful, and evil to the core, Darth Sidious restored the Sith and destroyed the Jedi Order. Living a double life, Sidious was in fact Palpatine, a Naboo Senator and phantom menace. He slowly manipulated the political system of the Galactic Republic until he was named Supreme Chancellor -- and eventually Emperor -- ruling the galaxy through fear and tyranny.

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Once a heroic Jedi Knight, Darth Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force, became a Sith Lord, and led the Empire’s eradication of the Jedi Order. He remained in service of the Emperor -- the evil Darth Sidious -- for decades, enforcing his Master’s will and seeking to crush the fledgling Rebel Alliance. But there was still good in him…

databank

A deadly, agile Sith Lord trained by the evil Darth Sidious, Darth Maul was a formidable warrior and scheming mastermind. He wielded an intimidating double-bladed lightsaber and fought with a menacing ferocity. Though he fell in battle against Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Zabrak from Dathomir would prove to be much harder to destroy than originally believed.

databank

Count Dooku was a menacing Sith Lord and central figure in the Clone Wars. Once a Jedi -- trained by Yoda -- he became disillusioned with the Jedi Order and thirsted for greater power. Dooku voluntarily left the light side behind and became Darth Sidious’ dark side disciple, taking the secret name Darth Tyranus and leading the Separatist army.

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Savage Opress was once a common Nightbrother whose fighting prowess impressed Asajj Ventress. Transformed into a monstrous warrior by Mother Talzin, Opress became Count Dooku's new assassin and secret Sith apprentice. His loyalty, however, remained to Talzin. The Nightsisters leader gave Savage a new quest: to find his brother, Darth Maul, who had somehow survived his apparent death and was living in exile in the Outer Rim. Savage located Maul and became his brother’s enforcer in the Shadow Collective, but died when Darth Sidious confronted the two Sith warriors on Mandalore.

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A noble order of protectors unified by their ability to tap into the power of the Force, the Jedi Order were the guardians of peace and justice in the Galactic Republic. The age of the Jedi would end, however, due to a nefarious plot by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious.